Friday, June 10, 2005

Televised events from the Vatican

This article from Sandro Magister takes a look at two different areas. First is Benedict XVI's possible intention to replace Archbishop Piero Marini, master of ceremonies for the pontifical liturgies. This due to Benedict's style and his known statements on how the Mass needs to be reformed.

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And even with his inaugural mass Benedict XVI has made it clear that he wants to accomplish a "reform of the reform" in this area, with increased fidelity to the great tradition of the Church.

So it is foreseeable that Marini will also leave the stage, and will be replaced by a pontifical master of ceremonies more in agreement with the current pope.
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Benedict XVI will no doubt do much to alter the operations of the offices of the Holy See to suit his own preferences and ways of doing things. The presentation of the Mass on TV is certainly one of the most visible ways of doing so. The Holy Father will make sure that his intentions in redefining certain aspects of the Mass and other ceremonies will be shown live and in color.

The truly interesting part is the companion essay 'Television Cameras between Two Popes', by Virgilio Fantuzzi, S.I. This look at how papal ceremonies are planned and conducted for television and the focus on the ceremonies surrounding John Paul II's death, funeral and the elevation of his successor is invaluable, given how many of us watched and remember in vivid detail all the details that Fantuzzi describes.

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During the death and funeral of John Paul II, CTV earned appreciation for the quickness with which it captured and broadcast the images of the various rites, beginning with the "Certification of death" that took place in the chapel of the pope's private apartment on the morning of April 3. For CTV, these days constituted a real and proper tour de force.
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It was the first time that television cameras were able to follow, in its entirety, the unfolding of the rites that take place around the pope's body, broadcasting these to the world in real time. Major international television networks that transmit the news around the clock, like CNN, stayed connected with the Vatican for days and days. Apart from the air waves, the images coming from the Vatican could be received over a computer's internet connection.
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Read the complete article Papal Masses on TV: Benedict XVI Wants a New Director from www.chiesa.

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